Fresh From the Market

[Editor's Note: This was written just prior to our move from California to Washington and clearly didn't get posted in that time.  Now six month's later I've run across the draft and figured I would post it just the same.]

Yes, the title for this post was stolen from the worship-worthy Alton Brown.

We are in escrow on our 15 acres of land where we hope to build our little goat-apple-chicken-produce farm.  While we are awaiting closing day and the move out of state we are also working on whittling down our stores.  We've managed to get the pounds and pounds of home butchered beef down to just a few filets and some chain meat so now we are turning our focus on the pantry.  So while this post won't really be so "fresh" or much "from the market" I thought I'd log our adventures none the less.  As usual most of the ingredients are sourced locally and organic.  We'll probably stray a bit more as we run though the items in the back of cupboard though.  We've always given some leniency to the local purchases for shelf-stable items that we view as staples.  Tonight's dinner... Potatoes Au Gratin

Ingredients:

• 7 medium yellow potatoes (don't remember the kind now, creamers?)
• 1/2 lb left over ham
• 4 pearl onions
• 1/3 cup butter
• 3 TBSP flour
• 1.5 cups milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs (optional)

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Locate favorite enameled cast iron baking dish in dish washer
3. Peel potatoes while cursing peeler under breath for taking off a fingernail
4. Search cupboards for food processor parts
5. Make SO search cupboards for food processor parts
6. Assemble food processor and slice potatoes, place potatoes in baking dish
7. Reassemble food processor, roughly chop ham and turn in to chibbles in the food processor, place in baking dish with potatoes and "toss"
8. Peel onions and turn in to chibbles, place in baking dish with potatoes and ham, and "toss" again
9. Reassemble food processor, and shred cheese while laughing maniacally.
10. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat (higher for non-cast iron)
11. Whisk in flour
12. When mixture starts to thicken add salt, pepper, and cheese, continue to whisk until smooth-ish
13. Pour cheese sauce over potatoes, ham, and onions in baking dish
14. Top with sprinkling of bread crumbs
15. Bake for 40 minutes or so

I had promised more details about our adventures visiting the farms...

I received a Local Harvest event posting for an Open House at a nearby farm in Carnation.  In researching the farms in the area I'd come across Dog Mountain Farm in the past and it had captured my interest because they were hosting their own farm dinners.  Additionally we've been considering a farm dinner style event for our wedding and would love nothing more than to have it hosted at a local farm.  We had also seen Dog Mountain at the Carnation Farmers Market selling plants and eggs.

There were some conflicting details between the farm web site and the Local Harvest event so we weren't entirely confident of the date and time for the Open House.  After a call to the farm, we ventured off to the farm anyway.  The weather was pretty terrible having been cold and drizzly all day, but we were cheerfully greeted by Shelby the farm dog upon our arrival and there were no signs of the weather dampening spirits.  We began chatting with David and Cindy while a string band played and then got a personal tour of the farm. 

We first spent a little time with their two Percheron horses, feeding them carrots and admiring just how insignificant an animal us humans can be.  The horses were stunning in their massiveness standing at 17 and 19 hands.  Cindy has been working to get the horses prepared to work the land and later hitched them up in order to give the children rides. 

After admiring the horses Cindy began a tour of the rest of the land.  They are growing a great variety of fruits and vegetables including quince which isn't something you see that often.  Cindy was happy to share some tips and tricks that they've learned over the years.  We admired their flock of ducks, geese, and chickens while listening to Cindy describe the various natural predators they've faced over the year and how they've improved their housing while accepting that there is a natural balance at work. Despite the threats and loses, they still turn out a quantity of stunning duck eggs.  We also marveled at the approximate 150 chicks and 30 ducklings that were cruising around under warming lights in a nearby building that will rebuild the flocks.  We took in the stunning views and happily tromped around reading planting stakes to see what varieties they had chosen for the environment. 

Following the garden tour, we began touring the greenhouse with David.  He is growing hundreds of tomato plants in the greenhouse using an impressive set up that ensures the plants are well feed and watered and allowed to produce to their fullest.  He also shared their cut lettuce garden that allows them to harvest greens multiple times from the same selection of plants.

Conversations during the afternoon flitted around about tips, techniques, and local resources. We were happy to learn that Cindy is involved with the new Snoqualamie Valley Slow Food Convivium as well as the Sno-Valley Tilth organizations.  We were also happy to share our wonderful experiences with Outstanding in the Field and some things we had observed there that might help them grow their own farm dinners.

Both Cindy and David were incredibly friendly and helpful and we look forward to seeing them again through one of the many organizations or better yet, one of their future farm dinners. 

Unfortunately I did not take pictures on the visit!  I'm completely forgot in my excitement in visiting the farm.  Sorry!

The farmers markets and farm stands are just getting started in our area.   It's been a very slow season for everyone so many producers don't have quite enough product to get going.  We've visited a few of them as they've opened but the selection is meager so I'm not sure they warrant their own posts. Here's a brief overview of where we've been:

Woodinville Farmers Market - This is a Saturday market and the first we visited for the season.  The location is kind of industrial being on a piece of land that is being prepared for some commercial buildings and therefore isolated from any sense of community or agriculture.  They had of-the-moment asparagus, fresh flowers, and several vendors or food products or crafts.  We were a little disappointed in the selection after coming from the very large and diverse markets in California but it is what it is.  Spring onions, asparagus, some cold storage apples and potatoes from last year and a the occasional greens were the extent of what was available.  We will quickly learn that is the effect of a long, cold spring.

Carnation Farmers Market  - This is the first of our "local" markets and is held on Tuesdays.  It sported much the same fair as the Woodinville market with some beans and more variety in the greens and lettuces.  Many of the vendors are selling vegetables starts in place of crops, but they also had cheese, honey, eggs, bread, pastries, and greenhouse tomatoes.  I think this is the market to watch if one was inclined to do such a thing.  It's in the heart of the King County agriculture region and provides many of the big city restaurants and markets with their products.  We still visit this market as often as we can and are partial to the Golden Glen Creamery Medium Cheddar and Kittitas Valley Greenhouse heirloom tomatoes.

Duvall Farmers Market - This is our actual local market held in downtown Duvall on Thursdays.  It certainly seems larger than it did on our chance encounter with it last year and the ratio of food to crafts seems tipped farther in the favor of the food.  Similar to the other markets many producers are selling starts still, but things are slowly starting to flesh out.

Remlinger Farms- We'd been to Remlinger Farms before and seen their market, but some advertisements I'd seen lately for the farm gave the impression that they had more of a farm stand.  We made another trip to see for ourselves and while they do offer flash frozen local fruit and u-pick they do not really have a "farm stand".   I'm certain we'll still visit Remlinger Farms for some summer picnics and the farm zoo with the kids, but it's a little too commercial and ambiguous for my preference.

Minea Farm - This is more of a farm stand and they don't appear to have a web site.  They are located on Woodinville-Redmond Road near to Root Connection.   We were driving through and their whimsical eggs and cider signs always made me curious so we stopped in.  We picked up a quart of apple cider, it might have been Pink Lady?  I don't actually recall, but man was it good.  We don't do many juices (or sodas) around our house so it was quite a treat.  As it turned out I was coming down with a cold, but the heaviness of the juice was extremely soothing on my sore throat and the sweetness just right.  I think I drank most of the quart with in two days of purchasing it and I keep craving more, but just can't justify a trip for just juice.  I might just justify it shortly by buying enough to freeze the extras for the coming months.

Overall there is quite a bit of local agriculture, but the farmers market isn't the place to be as it was in the bay area.  It's really understandable because the towns are smaller here and many of them know their local farmers and suppliers already.  The farmers market doesn't get the farmers quite the bang for their buck, or really, their time, that they do in more urban areas.  It's completely logical but not something I'd considered before we moved.  It does give us the push to go out and visit the farms and stands ourselves though which is also quite wonderful.  I'll have to post soon about us doing exactly that last weekend.

We are still here!  It's been busy around here so let's see...

With the snow letting up and spring quickly rushing in we've been working hard to get our land to where we want it to be.  Due to some happy circumstances we've also gotten further down the path of having our own farm than we had anticipated.

During correspondences with another company employee regarding where and when to purchase chickens, I stumbled upon the opportunity to "borrow" a dairy goat.  The fellow "hobby" farmer has a 100 acre 100 year old farm  nearby and primarily raises organic, pastured cattle for beef, but also boards and owns horses.  I say "hobby" in quotes because he works a full time job in technology, but his farm is certainly not hobby in nature.  It takes a lot of people to make the system work and is quite impressive.  His wife has joked they should call the farm The Stray Dog which seems rather apt.  They certainly have a soft spot for animals and have a variety including several goats that are primarily kept has pets.  They had recently adopted several goats, that needed a home, from a family member which included a dairy grade Oberhasli.  They weren't sure what they were were going to do with them, but primarily intended to keep them on as pets. There was suspicions that the Oberhasli may be pregnant, but if so she was due to kid at any time.  We quickly decided among ourselves that we would "borrow" the goat in the hopes she would soon kid and we would have a dairy goat.  All along the farmer has insisted we could return her if we didn't like the dairy work or found her unsuitable, but as soon as we met her we knew we really were adopting her, not borrowing her.  So, a goat necessitates some sort of goat housing now doesn't it?  We quickly scouted out an appropriate location, drew up a rough plan and purchased a  moderate amount of lumber.  In two weekends we erected an 8' by 16' goat shed and partially fenced an approximate 25 sqft yard off of it.  We brought Molly home on the third weekend and she's been with us for a couple weeks now.  She's incredibly sweet but as time goes on we are much less confident that she is actually pregnant.  Goats are not solitary animals so this means we will likely be adopting a second goat as a companion for her in the coming weeks.  We'll worry about the dairy aspects this fall and next spring.

We had already intended to purchase chickens this year and decided on  approximately a dozen.  The majority of which are meat birds and won't see the fall.  We do have several explicitly laying birds to keep on for that purpose.  At this moment there are 13 baby chickens residing in a box in our guest bathroom enjoying the lush life and growing quickly.  The first set of 6 are almost two weeks old and the second set of 7 are nearly a week old.  We'll keep them in the house under the warming light until 4 weeks or so and then move them out to the garage for 4 more weeks.  At the point at which they are ready to brave the weather we'll move them out of doors.  So, chickens necessitate some sort of chicken housing... we are still working on building that!

We've also added a purely companion animal in Mars, a black lab australian shepherd mix.  He was approximately 4 months old when we adopted him (also from a rescue) and weighing in at 35lbs.  He's very energetic and we know we will have our hands full training him to respect the livestock.  Gui (my feral rescue cat) has already put Mars in his place, but Mars' energy knows no bounds.  Molly isn't too keen on him yet and I'm concerned about his natural instincts when the chickens are outside.  We'll work on it with him though.

Additionally I've begun sowing the seeds of our own vegetable garden for the season.  We still don't have a farmer's market running yet.  The one here in town starts in another month or so and is only in it's second year.  I hope to get involved with the administrative aspects in the future.  We are using a local CSA that supplements from outside the area to get us through the winter this year.  We hope to move away from that sort of thing in the future, but relocating in December requires some compromises.  I've been pleased with both the quality, quantity, and value they've provided regardless.  You can learn more about them at: Full Circle Farm.

I'll also start a post on the Seattle Eastside area Farmer's Markets as I learn more myself.  As for what's in season right now?  It's mostly cold framed, cold storage, or cold tolerable items (see a theme?): potatoes, carrots, apples, and the like.  I'm not sure it warrants a post of it's own, but I'll work on getting up to speed on the area as we are quickly coming in to the growing season.

It's been absolutely wonderful to see the fields around us begin filling in with neat little rows, hoop houses, and all sorts of livestock.  I can't say I regret having actual seasons again in any way.

Oh, and Outstanding In The Field will be publishing their 2008 schedule later this week.  Keep your eyes out for locations near you.  We will definitely be attending at least a couple events in the Pacific Northwest this year.

I'll throw out some links for you to take a look at if you haven't seen them before:

• Earth Day Footprint Quiz - calculate your carbon footprint and learn how to reduce it.
• You Grow Girl - a hip site focusing on d.i.y. gardening, organics, and reveling in a closer bond between people and the earth.
• Eat Well Guide - a guide to finding local, sustainable, and organic restaurants, stores, suppliers in your area.
• Local Harvest - a guide to local suppliers from farmers and CSAs to restaurants and events.
• Slow Food - an organization focused on the relationship between plate and planet, look up your local convivium and start participating in dinners and events both locally and internationally.
• Locavores - home to one of the pioneering communities focused on eating locally.

That should leave you a little to browse until I have more news.  It's almost to the point where I can count the time in weeks until the Farmer's Markets start opening up and I get to fully explore and appreciate our new location.

We are finally (mostly) settled in to our new home and state.  With that it does mean that this blog will be transitioning from SF Bay Area-centric to the Puget Sound.  I'm very excited to start learning about my new environment.  We've already scoped out some good stores and have definitely noticed the lack of year-round farmer's markets (understandably so).  The actual season of winter with the occasional snow shower and noticeably shorter days, has us hunkered down and wallowing in the warmth of comfort food which is a very nice change.  We hope to start our new year off slowly in the spring with a small backyard garden, the usual containers, and maybe some chicks.  Our ultimate intent is to get dairy goats, but we will be working up to that.  We also hope to put in a small orchard and expand the garden.  Our land is tucked safely in the hills along a valley so we suffer no concerns of flooding which isn't uncommon in the valley fields, but we will need to be creative and conscious about how we choose to utilize our land to best effect while also maintaining it's integrity.  I'm sure the novelty of it all will eventually wear off and we will be cursing our decision not to go with a nice flat piece of valley floor, but for now the trees and creek are just lovely even if our little farm doesn't get going as easily. 

The details for those inclined to curiosity: 15 acres of wooded land, back property line is a year round creek that is rumored to be home to salmon and trout.  The house's elevation is about 70 and the peak of the land is around 200 or 250.  The house is in the front right corner of the property near the road.  Our land does include a dirt road easement to the 45 acre property behind us, but conversations with the land owners have gone swimmingly to date and we will be working with them to move the easement to a location that better suits us (further from the house) as they plan to start building in the coming year.  The house is 20 years old, 2000 sq ft., 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, certified wood stove, septic, well, and several well placed sky lights.  Septic and well might make other's cringe, but we are happy to be more of a "closed loop".  Power loss is not uncommon in the area during the stormy months so we also have generator back up and the heating (air and water) is on propane year-round.  Internet service and TV are provided by satellite.  We don't think we are particularly remote since we are 2 miles from a town of 6k, but services are slim.  Our neighbors consist of a sheep textile farm, a tree farm, and several small farms with horses, goats, alpacas, chickens, and the like.  The area is currently zoned such that on the wooded/hill sides of the valley there may be only one residence per 10 acres, on the valley floor it's one per 30 acres.  The valley is Cherry Valley, the creek is Cherry Creek, the town is Duvall, WA.